It might be time to give Lisa Cermignano a standing ovation. The lady obviously has nerves of steel.

On the other hand, Wagner College’s second-year women’s basketball coach might need to develop a thick skin in a real hurry.

Cermignano, no stranger to big-time college hoops as a Hall of Fame player at George Washington University and then as an assistant coach at Vanderbilt and Illinois, is reaching for the stars in the little Northeast Conference.

The Seahawks open their season at home Sunday afternoon against seventh-ranked Kentucky, an SEC powerhouse coming off a 30-win season and Elite Eight appearance in the NCAA tournament. The 1 p.m. matinee at the Spiro Center is creating quite a buzz for the simple reason that these are, well, the Kentucky Wildcats charging into the cozy 2,100-seat Grymes Hill arena more accustomed to greeting the likes of Robert Morris and LIU.

Cermignano has put together the most ambitious non-conference schedule in program history. The Seahawks will also host Pittsburgh, Virginia Commonwealth and Vermont, while visiting Rutgers, Seton Hall and Iona.

Talk about your basketball gauntlets. And all before the Christmas break.

“I’d rather play the best, to raise the bar and get them to the pace and the level I’m used to,” said Cermignano, a former sharpshooting guard who scored 1,278 points at GW from 1993-97 and helped the Colonials to two Sweet 16 and one Elite Eight appearances. “I’m excited that a Kentucky wants to come here and play a game and that we get to go to a place like Rutgers.

“I’m thankful and grateful that these teams are giving us an opportunity to play them.”

Kentucky had booked a season-opening Friday night game at Marist and was poking around for a possible second contest on its New York trip. Cermignano’s former SEC coaching roots and familiarity with Kentucky and head coach Matthew Mitchell helped Wagner land the highest-ranked home opponent in program history.

The game has all the makings of David vs. Goliath. Cermignano is a Philly kid, so maybe Rocky I is more like it.

Wagner is coming off a 3-26 season, one game better than the 2-27 mark of 2011-12. The Seahawks are 3-33 in NEC play over the past two seasons and their last winning season (15-13) and NEC tourney appearance trace way back to 2002-03.

“We’re going to be a team that people are not going to want to play in January,” said Cermignano of the conference season. “I really believe that. We’re putting in the foundation with quality and talented kids. We’re going to finish a lot stronger than people think.”

In the meantime, the seventh-ranked Wildcats beckon.

“I’m excited for our kids, but I’m also excited for the Wagner community and Staten Island,” said Cermignano. “We need to create some excitement while being realistic. I hope people come out and see how hard we play and how much potential we have and then decide to come back and watch us play again."

WAGNER WOMEN AT A GLANCE 

SEASON OPENER 

No. 7 Kentucky at Wagner 

WHERE/WHEN 

Spiro Center, Grymes Hill, Sunday, 1 p.m. 

QUICK SHOTS 

Wagner is offering free admission to all children
12 and under for the season-opening game against the highest-ranked
opponent Wagner has ever hosted ... There will also be an autograph
session with Seahawk players following the game.
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